Direction maps and travel information are gaining popularity as an addition to the basic wedding invitation stationary. With more and more people living in different parts of the country, it is common to provide your guests with group travel rates, and information so they can turn a weekend wedding into a week-long retreat. Here we explore your options.
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Maps are often included in wedding invitations when your ceremony or reception site addresses are not sufficient for your guest to find the location. This is common when a reception is in a rural location, or the wedding site is in a location not well known to your guests. Maps are also used if your reception is in a different location than your ceremony site, and you want to give specific directions for getting to the location, where to find parking as so forth.
If the maps are included in the wedding invitations, they are to be printed in the same style as the wedding invitations, and are usually on a small, heavier card. Maps can also be mailed separately at a later date. Maps should include not only visual directions, but also written directions—taking into the account that your guests will be coming from different directions.
Travel information is a courteous thing to provide for your out-of-town guests. Depending upon the circumstances, you can arrange group airline rates, group hotel room rates, and information about things to do in your city. Often your guests will appreciate the information and choose to stay longer if they know they have things they can do.
If you are having your wedding in a hotel, you can easily arrange for a special room rate for them. If you are having your wedding in another location, choosing a nice hotel close to the wedding site is a nice thing. Then call the hotel and ask about arranging a group rate for your out-of-town guests. To be on the safe side, don’t mention wedding! For example, if you are anticipating 10 couple’s, call the hotel and just tell them that you would like to arrange a group rate for approximately 10 out-of-town guests who are coming to visit your city on your specific dates. As long as they have rooms available, hotels will be happy to pre-block rooms for you. Usually there is no down payment required, but reservations need to be made by a specific date to hold the rooms at that rate. You will communicate this to your guests.
If you have a large number of guests flying from a specific location, some airlines also allow for special airfare rates for groups.
You can get free tourist information from your city or province, and include it in your travel information package. Visit your local visitor’s bureau and pick out pamphlets and other things that you think might be great for your guests. You can even create an itinerary of events that your guests can take part in while they are visiting. Your options are endless, and you can do something simple like a family gather at an aunt’s place or something elaborate like a fully paid brunch the day after your wedding for your guests. It all depends upon your desires and budget.